"Hehehe, looks like your trip to Ryūchi Cave was quite fruitful..."
Orochimaru gave a slight smile, satisfied that his disciple had gained something.
He had left the Ryūchi Cave contract scroll behind precisely for Gekko Chizan to use.
"Fruitful? Those guys in Ryūchi Cave are all terrible to deal with. Just making it back alive was a miracle."
"Sensei, let's save the catching-up for later. We should fight first."
Chizan sidestepped to dodge a flying kunai, then turned to look back at the battlefield.
The arrival of Manda had already tipped the scales. Even powerful Wind Release ninjutsu couldn't pierce his scales.
This was the power of the giant serpents from Ryūchi Cave. Take Manda for example—his body contained a considerable amount of natural energy.
"Alright, battle first."
"I'll hold off the numerous Sunagakure ninja. You and Manda go find the hidden Sasori."
"His puppets and poisons are the real threat."
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed coldly as he looked at the puppets mowing down enemies on the battlefield.
He had fought Sasori of the Red Sand multiple times. That guy's puppetry was indeed formidable—while not as numerous as Chiyo's, the power of his puppets far exceeded hers.
Especially the poisons. One drop was enough to kill a Konoha ninja on contact.
He had already reported the situation back to Konoha and hoped Tsunade would be dispatched. Whether that would succeed, he didn't know.
If not, Konoha's casualties would keep rising.
"Alrighty, just Sasori, huh? Watch me handle him!"
Just hearing Sasori's name got Gekko Chizan fired up—last time, Sasori had generously contributed quite a few stat points to him.
Immediately, Gekko Chizan threw a kunai into the ground and activated Transparent Release, vanishing on the spot.
"Hehehe, that brat... this Transparent Release really is elusive. One second he's here, the next, I can't even sense a trace..."
"And he even left a coordinate mark... Hehehe, should I say he's being cautious, or that he's scared? Thinking about retreating before the fight even begins?"
Orochimaru chuckled as he looked at the marked kunai on the ground, then leapt into the battlefield.
"Chōmei, help me find that brat Sasori."
"Now that we've returned to this battlefield, I must give him my heartfelt love and care!"
Chōmei snapped into action, declaring with conviction:
"Relax, I'll send chakra to you and help you find him."
"We'll look together—won't take more than a few minutes to track down that kid."
"But how do you plan to show your 'love'? Gimme a hint?"
Gekko Chizan grinned mischievously.
"The Buddha said: it cannot be spoken!"
He then began combing the battlefield for any sign of Sasori.
Using his insect eyes and emotion-sensing ability, he quickly locked onto Sasori's position.
This kid really was something—he had dug a hole right in the middle of the battlefield... and covered the entrance with corpses. No wonder Orochimaru couldn't find him...
"A real talent... How'd he dig this? Just big enough to crawl inside..."
"And it doesn't even obstruct his view..."
Even Chōmei had to admire it. This trick was quite clever—not only did he dig a hidden tunnel right in the battlefield, he even used a few corpses for camouflage.
"Puppet masters don't have much direct combat ability. To control puppets on a battlefield, they have to find a safe place."
"Sasori's done pretty well in that regard. Good thing he's not tall, or that hole wouldn't fit him."
"In that case... hehe..."
Gekko Chizan's signature grin returned.
Now that the target was locked, next step—time to take him down.
Gekko Chizan quietly crept toward Sasori's hiding spot.
On the battlefield, Crow, Black Ant, and two humanoid puppets were displaying overwhelming force.
Sasori, still frantically controlling his puppets, had no idea danger was already looming.
Gekko Chizan crouched silently behind him, slowly extending his right hand.
"Chōmei, give me some scale powder."
"What effect do you want?"
"Sleeping!"
"Got it! Coming right up."
To maintain Transparent Release, Gekko Chizan didn't plan to act directly, so he asked Chōmei to produce the scale powder.
Soon, Chōmei condensed chakra into powder and released it.
Under Gekko Chizan's control, the scale powder drifted silently into the hole below.
Sasori, who had been brimming with battle intent, suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness hit him. Before he could react, he collapsed and fell into a deep sleep.
Come on—this was special scale powder crafted by Chōmei the Seven-Tails. If it said "sleep in three seconds," then you were out in three seconds.
As Sasori succumbed to sleep, his puppets immediately lost control and dropped to the ground like kites with snapped strings.
Seeing this, Orochimaru knew Gekko Chizan had succeeded.
"The puppet master has been dealt with! Push the enemy back immediately!"
With his command, the Konoha forces launched a fierce counterattack. Ninjutsu and Explosive Tags erupted across the field.
The Sunagakure ninja realized what had happened and began a hasty retreat.
"Chizan, time to go, or we'll get caught in the crossfire too."
Chōmei urged Gekko Chizan to withdraw, looking at the sky filled with exploding jutsu.
But Gekko Chizan just chuckled.
In the next second, he canceled Transparent Release and placed his right hand on the ground.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands..."
Countless long snakes slithered down his arm and into the hole.
"Damn, you brat..."
"I swear, if that guy wakes up, he'll be scared to death! Sleeping with snakes!"
These snakes didn't attack Sasori under Gekko Chizan's control—they just coiled tightly around him.
Job done, Gekko Chizan instantly teleported back to his trench using Flying Thunder God.
"Hehehe... Hope Sasori enjoys my gift."
"Manda! Come back!"
Manda was still wreaking havoc on the battlefield with his immense strength.
Hearing Chizan's call, he spat angrily and retreated.
He still had plenty of chakra left and could keep fighting.
But hey—since it was Chizan calling, he'd listen. If it had been Orochimaru? No chance.
Orochimaru: ...How rude of you.
Manda: You tell me. He's a Sage's disciple now. And you...
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo